Duel
by The Forsaken Girl
Summary: The first time Kurogane dueled Fai, they were in Yamano, and Fai was assigned as his partner." Because their life had always been like a duel...Kurofai, spoilers up to Clow Country Arc...Enjoy!


A/N: Hey guys! I'm back again with my next fic... and my friend says hi from Computer class, since I'm posting this in school... XD Thanks so much for everyone reading my story, Arm, because I got more than 150 hits in less than a day, which is amazing! You guys are wonderful!

**Notice-**This story, Duel, will have some small assumptions: that 1) Kurogane and Fai live in Nihon after all the world-hopping and 2) C!Syaoran gives Fai his eye back sometime during or after the final battle... That's basically how I've always thought of the story ending, so most of my post-Tsubasa fics will feature blue-and-gold-eyed!Fai...

So I hope you guys will review for this story, because I'd like to hear any comments or criticism... I'm always happy to improve my writing... So enjoy the story! :)

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Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE

Duel

The first time Kurogane dueled Fai, they were in Yamano, and Fai was assigned as his partner.

They could neither talk to or understand each other, but as Kurogane made a swipe at Fai with his sword and Fai jumped back, landing on the ground softly, it was as if they read each other's thoughts. The other soldiers watched in awe as the two foreigners circled around each other, attacking and blocking, running forward and jumping back, striking and parrying. There were constant sounds of a sword slicing through air, of an arrow whirring at the now bare spot, of feet and hands and grunts and the occasional sharp intake of breath when the strike of a sword or the release of an arrow met its target.

Kurogane and Fai are battle men, who have seen the destruction of war numerous times. Kurogane knows the blond may be his equal in terms of strength, but he doesn't know if the other man is blocking his attacks merely because of his expertise at deflecting, or if the ninja himself doesn't want to hurt the idiot. Fai knows Kurogane could overpower him at any moment, but he doesn't know why he won't end this fight with a painful blow to the arm, and he wonders if it's because he doesn't want to hurt the ninja. But as icy blue eyes met fiery red ones, both understood this: Whether it be verbal, physical, mental, or emotional, this will not be the last duel.

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The second time Kurogane physically dueled Fai, they were in Celes, and Fai's world was falling apart.

This duel was hopeless for Kurogane, because he could do nothing with a sword while Fai wrote his spells out for Kurogane, meaning to harm, meaning to kill. But Kurogane notices things the others don't, like Fai's trembling fingers as he writes out Kurogane's death, like the terrified glances towards his king, who smiles patiently, fingernails dyed red from innocent blood spilt, like the scared looks sent towards the ninja's own way, begging, pleading with his eyes, _" Please. Don't do this. Don't make me do this. Please! I don't want to hurt you!" _But Kurogane glares back, the words _"too late" _etched in his eyes, as he strode forward, not towards the mage, but the king.

And Syaoran and Mokona stare helplessly in horror, and Fai stares wide-eyed in horror, because all of them know that if the ninja dueled with the mage, there would be at least a minuscule chance of him getting out alive. On the other hand, the king just looks at Kurogane as another body filled with blood to spill, as another live person he wants to kill so he can get stronger. Which is why Fai lashes out, trying to save Kurogane while also trying to honor his promise to the king, knowing he cannot do both nor do neither. Because he keeps his promises, no matter how much he doesn't want to. Therefore, he and Ashura-ou take down Kurogane, this man who _cared,_ who _saved_ him and gave him _blood…_

Blood. Kurogane's blood. The ninja's blood gushed out his side, and he fell, wounded, close to death. Not only was the thick, red blood bringing Fai's insatiable thirst to the surface, but it was also bringing out his vampiric senses, his now golden eye narrowing in anger, his mind screaming possessively at his bait's unintentionally spilt blood. This is not Kurogane and Fai's duel anymore, if it ever was. This is Ashura-ou and Fai's duel.

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The third time Kurogane and Fai dueled, they were living in Nihon, and Fai was almost used to the changing seasons.

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and they swayed gently as the wind ruffled the petals of the flowers. Fai entered the clearing dressed in a light blue garment, resting his hand against a sakura tree as he intently watched the man practicing with his sword. Kurogane was a muscular man, with a large build and broad shoulders, but years of training and experience allowed the man to become graceful, with light feet and precise movements and swift strikes of the sword. A man like him cannot be easily defeated.

But Fai is strong; he is smart, sly, cunning, and lithe. This is why Fai runs towards the ninja with his claws out, not because he knows he can win this duel, but because he can make the other man work for his victory. And Kurogane turns around, smirks at the challenge, and moves to the side before attacking with his sword. Fai dodges by jumping up and twirling in the air before landing with one hand on the ground, bangs hiding his eyes. Kurogane wonders at this moment if this man is just playing around, but as the blond rose up to smile at Kurogane, he decides it doesn't matter, because he was glad to take the chance at doing something other than the same, tedious exercise.

So the dance begins, because the duel is so much like a dance, with Kurogane leading and Fai following, at least until Fai takes a turn and now both are fighting for the lead, charging and retreating, twirling and turning, blocking and parrying. Kurogane charges at Fai, who swerves before lashing out with his claws, which the ninja dodges before retaliating. The cycle continues until both men unexpectedly charge at each other, and both are surprised, and both recover, but Kurogane is quicker, recovers faster, and reacts better. And a hand reaches up to capture two paler hands while the other holds onto a sword pressed against the side of the blond's throat ever so slightly.

They are mere inches apart, breathing heavily, staring intensely, Kurogane wearing a triumphant smile, Fai neither frowning nor smiling. He then let himself give a supposedly defeated smile, leaning in towards Kurogane, eyes half-lidded. Kurogane leaned in as well, sword dropping to his side, his grip on the blond's hands slackening. Suddenly, Fai's eyes became wide and alert, hands twisting out of the other man's grasp, laughing mischievously as he leaped up and disappeared into the cherry blossom trees.

Kurogane cursed loudly, blaming the vampire for being a tease, and watched the swaying cherry blossoms wearily, searching for a glimpse of blond hair or a swish of light blue. Only when he heard a soft rustle and an exclaim of _"Hyuu!"_ did he turn around to attack Fai. But Kurogane was too late; Fai was already in midair, racing towards the ninja alarmingly fast, and before they both know it, both are on the ground, one on top of the other. Now they really were breathless, since the impact of the fall knocked their breath out, but that was truly only part of the reason.

Fai laid on top of Kurogane tiredly, panting slightly, his mismatched eyes staring brightly into Kurogane's own red eyes victoriously. The ninja glared at the smaller man before rolling his eyes exasperatedly and wrapping his arms around the blond's waist. Fai grinned, leaning down once again to finish what he started, until he felt the arms around his waist tighten and saw a smug smirk on Kurogane's face as he turned them over on the ground so that the ninja was on top. His blood red eyes told Fai _"I win"_ and the vampire pouted slightly at the unfairness of it all but still wound his arms around the broader man's neck. As the two men leaned in towards each other, Kurogane decided that if this was what happened after he dueled with the blond now, damn it all if he didn't fight with him every minute of the day.

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OWARI

A/N: So was it any good? I wanted to try a post-Tsubasa kind of story, but it ended up being only a third of the story... oops :D But I hope you guys review so I can improve my writing...I have some more stories in my head that I can post up if you like this one, so please review! It shall make this girl very happy! But if you don't, let me just say now, thank you for reading! :)


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